Post by WaTcHeR on Jul 7, 2006 13:29:03 GMT -5
07.07.2006 - WAREHAM - It took four officers and four Taser blasts to subdue a Barnstable County Sheriff's Office deputy who police say assaulted his girlfriend in public after the town fireworks display Saturday night.
The Wareham police arrested Gregory W. DeLuca, 26, of Onset shortly after 9 p.m.
Authorities allege a domestic dispute between DeLuca and his girlfriend that began in a bar and continued on the street grew into a melee, with a ring of bystanders hurling beer cans at officers as they tried to restrain DeLuca.
Throughout the arrest, DeLuca repeatedly told police he was a cop and that he worked for the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office. ''I'm a (expletive) cop,'' DeLuca said, according a Wareham police report. ''You can't do this.''
At Wareham District Court on Monday, DeLuca pleaded not guilty to five charges, including assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest. He was released on $40 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4.
DeLuca is at least the fourth deputy from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to face criminal charges this year and apparently the first deputy taken into police custody since the sheriff's office established an employee arrest policy this spring.
''Unfortunately, several members of the correction officer's union have been arrested in the recent past,'' Barnstable County Correctional Facility superintendent Michael Regan wrote in an April 13 letter to the president of the correction officer's union.
''The Administration is of the opinion that you cannot both be a criminal defendant in the criminal justice system and be a law enforcement officer at the same time,'' Regan wrote.
Under the new policy, DeLuca will be suspended without pay from the sheriff's office until his case is resolved in court. At that point, Sheriff James Cummings will decide whether to give DeLuca back his job - and any back pay - based on the circumstances of the case.
Sheriff's spokesman Dave Neal was not available for comment. Regan did not respond to a voice mail message yesterday afternoon.
The incident involving DeLuca began when Wareham officers working at the town's fireworks display responded to a reported domestic assault in front of a local pizzeria, according to a police report.
While one officer spoke to DeLuca's girlfriend, three others interviewed DeLuca. The woman told the officer the couple had begun arguing in a bar, according to the report.
She left to meet friends at another bar and DeLuca followed, shouting at her. She told the police he ''grabbed her by the throat and began pushing her,'' according to the report.
When the police told DeLuca, described as glassy-eyed and smelling of alcohol, that he was under arrest, the sheriff's deputy allegedly crossed his arms over his chest and resisted two officers' attempts to handcuff him.
At some point, the police officers and DeLuca fell to the ground and another officer delivered the first of four ''drive stuns'' to the suspect's thigh.
A crowd had gathered and bystanders began throwing beer cans at the officers, according to the report. DeLuca allegedly kicked one officer before they finally handcuffed him.
At least three times, DeLuca told police he was a ''cop'' from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, the report says.
Corrections officers in Barnstable County are not police officers. Their authority is typically limited to work inside a corrections facility and they usually do not carry a gun while on duty.
www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/anothersheriffxs7.htm
The Wareham police arrested Gregory W. DeLuca, 26, of Onset shortly after 9 p.m.
Authorities allege a domestic dispute between DeLuca and his girlfriend that began in a bar and continued on the street grew into a melee, with a ring of bystanders hurling beer cans at officers as they tried to restrain DeLuca.
Throughout the arrest, DeLuca repeatedly told police he was a cop and that he worked for the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office. ''I'm a (expletive) cop,'' DeLuca said, according a Wareham police report. ''You can't do this.''
At Wareham District Court on Monday, DeLuca pleaded not guilty to five charges, including assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest. He was released on $40 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4.
DeLuca is at least the fourth deputy from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to face criminal charges this year and apparently the first deputy taken into police custody since the sheriff's office established an employee arrest policy this spring.
''Unfortunately, several members of the correction officer's union have been arrested in the recent past,'' Barnstable County Correctional Facility superintendent Michael Regan wrote in an April 13 letter to the president of the correction officer's union.
''The Administration is of the opinion that you cannot both be a criminal defendant in the criminal justice system and be a law enforcement officer at the same time,'' Regan wrote.
Under the new policy, DeLuca will be suspended without pay from the sheriff's office until his case is resolved in court. At that point, Sheriff James Cummings will decide whether to give DeLuca back his job - and any back pay - based on the circumstances of the case.
Sheriff's spokesman Dave Neal was not available for comment. Regan did not respond to a voice mail message yesterday afternoon.
The incident involving DeLuca began when Wareham officers working at the town's fireworks display responded to a reported domestic assault in front of a local pizzeria, according to a police report.
While one officer spoke to DeLuca's girlfriend, three others interviewed DeLuca. The woman told the officer the couple had begun arguing in a bar, according to the report.
She left to meet friends at another bar and DeLuca followed, shouting at her. She told the police he ''grabbed her by the throat and began pushing her,'' according to the report.
When the police told DeLuca, described as glassy-eyed and smelling of alcohol, that he was under arrest, the sheriff's deputy allegedly crossed his arms over his chest and resisted two officers' attempts to handcuff him.
At some point, the police officers and DeLuca fell to the ground and another officer delivered the first of four ''drive stuns'' to the suspect's thigh.
A crowd had gathered and bystanders began throwing beer cans at the officers, according to the report. DeLuca allegedly kicked one officer before they finally handcuffed him.
At least three times, DeLuca told police he was a ''cop'' from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, the report says.
Corrections officers in Barnstable County are not police officers. Their authority is typically limited to work inside a corrections facility and they usually do not carry a gun while on duty.
www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/anothersheriffxs7.htm
